Oud-Zuid, twenty-seven, and the therapist couples ask for when the evening has to be agreed a week before anybody lands.

Trade fair weeks are booked long before they happen, and she keeps a diary built for that. English, which is the working language of most of the weeks she is booked into. Blonde, unhurried, and happier spending a minute at the door establishing who has had which sort of day than guessing at it. The avenues near the museums are quiet enough by nine that a session can run long without anyone noticing. She decides what the hour includes and says so before it begins, for both of you. A date agreed a week out is held as firmly as one agreed the same afternoon, which is the whole reason for fixing it early.

Charlotte decides which bookings she takes and may decline any of them; she sets the limits for what a session includes, says what they are, and may end a visit at any point, as the terms set out.